On Thursday afternoon, the New Jersey Devils acquired veteran defenseman Brian Dumoulin from the Anaheim Ducks.
Dumoulin, 33, is in his 12th NHL season. His resume is highlighted by consecutive Stanley Cup championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017. Per the press release, he has played in 81 career playoff games, all with Pittsburgh, which ranks third all-time for Penguins defensemen.
“He is obviously a veteran defenseman,” head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Dumoulin. “He is a reliable and consistent defender. He has size and length but also skates well and can move the puck well.
“I had been kind of digging in on him and watching him myself a little bit closer.” Keefe continued. “To really watch his game over the last few weeks because (general manager Tom Fitzgerald) has been working (on) it for a while. Pretty comfortable thinking he is going to help our depth and give us another left-hand shot, which I think is really important at this particular time.”
The Devils blue line is currently without Jonas Siegenthaler (LTIR) and Dougie Hamilton, who is being evaluated for an injury. Before acquiring Dumoulin, Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon were the only two healthy left-handed defensemen available for New Jersey.
The organization is currently working on getting their newest blueliner to New Jersey.
“They’re working on that now,” Keefe said. “(Anaheim is) in Vancouver. We are doing our best to try and get him here to be available tomorrow.”
At Thursday’s practice, the following defensive pairs were used: Luke Hughes – Brett Pesce, Brenden Dillon – Simon Nemec, and Seamus Casey – Johnathan Kovacevic.
The Devils will host the Winnipeg Jets on Friday at Prudential Center.
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